Mental health company wants $1.4M incentive to lease Howell Place space – Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

The company requesting a $1.4 million performance-based incentive grant from the Metro Council to open a new specialty psychiatric hospital in north Baton Rouge is planning to locate the facility in the former Champion Medical Center space at Howell Place.

According to a draft agreement attached to the Metro Council agenda for Wednesdays meeting, at which the council will vote on the $1.4 million incentive, Oceans Behavioral Hospital plans to enter into a 10-year lease for some 35,000 square feet in the former surgical specialty hospital at Howell Place. The new behavioral health facility would be an expansion of the Dallas-based companys existing operations on Florida Boulevard.

In order to qualify for the incentive, Oceans must spend at least $1 million by the end of 2020 renovating the facility, which was vacated when Champion closed down in mid 2017.

Oceans also must agree to retain its existing 74 positions and create an additional 85 new jobs by the end of 2021.

Any opportunity we have for health care providers to expand, create jobs and really affect a policy is a huge win because it satisfies so many needs in the community and is a great example of a public-private partnership, says city-parish assistant CAO Veneeth Iyengar, who oversees economic development and has been working on the deal for months. And if it goes into Howell Place, thats a huge, huge win.

Iyengar says the company needs the incentive to make the deal work financially, but he says it will be more than worth it long term. For one, it will address two of the four areas identified in a community health needs assessment as lacking in Baton Rouge: access to care and mental health.

Also, it will create 85 new jobs with an average salary of at least $39,500 in the high-demand area of health care.

If you look at one of the biggest job generators and growth sectors its been in health care, he says. So were looking at a unique opportunity to bring a unique care delivery model that is going to fit a need, create jobs and careers, and put a building back into commerce. So it checks off a ton of boxes.

The council meets Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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Mental health company wants $1.4M incentive to lease Howell Place space - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report